The biggest thing I hear new families talk about, is how to manage a shared kitchen. I have to admit, it was nerve wrecking to start with, but now, we don’t even think about it! In our kitchen, the sink sits in the middle of the kitchen, and is the neutral zone – everything gluten is kept to the left, on the smaller side of the bench, and everything gluten free is prepped on the bigger right side, where the stove and microwave are… The pantry and fridge are shared zones, and we just clearly label everything (we have separate condiments). The kids also have labelled baskets for their own snacks.

Why split it you ask? Well, we have a teenager, who somehow manages to spread his toast crumbs everywhere – they seriously travel further than glitter, so it just seemed safer for him to have his own space. The kids also aren’t great at really wiping their areas down when they’re making lunch, and as they always seem to be in the kitchen making breakfast and lunch at the same time, for us, it was just easier to split them up to avoid chopping boards and utensils getting mixed up.

If you’re still unsure about how to manage a shared kitchen safely, please know it is completely do-able, even with the smallest kitchen! Please reach out if you’re in Sydney and need some help setting up a shared kitchen – I’m more than happy to walk you through it.